2 Chronicles 28

Ahaz Succeeds Jotham in Judah

1 1Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen * years in Jerusalem; and 2he did not do right in the sight of the LORD as David his father had done.
2 3But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also 4made molten images for the Baals.
3 Moreover, 5he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom * and 6burned his sons in fire, 7according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before * the sons of Israel.
4 He sacrificed and 8burned incense on the high places, on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Is Invaded

5 Wherefore, 9the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who inflicted him with heavy casualties.
6 For 10Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 * * in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king.
8 11The sons of Israel carried away captive of 12their brethren 200,000 * women, sons and daughters; and they took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.
9 But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and 13he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, "Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, 14was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage 15which has even reached heaven.
10 "Now you are proposing to 16subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves *. Surely, do you not have transgressions of your own against the LORD your God?
11 "Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives 17whom you captured from your brothers, 18for the burning anger of the LORD is against you."
12 Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim -Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai -arose against those who were coming from the battle,
13 and said to them, "You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing to bring upon us guilt against the LORD adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that His burning anger is against Israel."
14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the officers and all the assembly.
15 Then 19the men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and 20gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, 21the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria.

Compromise with Assyria

16 22At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help.
17 23For again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives.
18 24The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there.
19 For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of 25Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the LORD.
20 So 26Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.
21 27Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
22 Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz 28became yet more unfaithful to the LORD.
23 29For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said, "30Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me." But they became the downfall of him and all Israel.
24 Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he 31cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he 32closed the doors of the house of the LORD and 33made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.
25 In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.
26 34Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
27 35So Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of 36Israel; and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Cross References 36

  • 1. 2 Kings 16:2-4
  • 2. 2 Chronicles 27:2
  • 3. 2 Chronicles 22:3
  • 4. Exodus 34:17
  • 5. Joshua 15:8
  • 6. Leviticus 18:21; 2 Chronicles 33:6
  • 7. 2 Chronicles 33:2
  • 8. 2 Chronicles 28:25
  • 9. 2 Kings 16:5; 2 Chronicles 24:24; Isaiah 7:1
  • 10. 2 Kings 16:5
  • 11. Deuteronomy 28:25, 41
  • 12. 2 Chronicles 11:4
  • 13. 2 Chronicles 25:15
  • 14. Isaiah 47:6
  • 15. Ezra 9:6; Revelation 18:5
  • 16. Leviticus 25:39
  • 17. 2 Chronicles 28:8
  • 18. James 2:13
  • 19. 2 Chronicles 28:12
  • 20. 2 Kings 6:22; Proverbs 25:21, 22
  • 21. Deuteronomy 34:3
  • 22. 2 Kings 16:7
  • 23. Obad 10, 14
  • 24. Ezekiel 16:57
  • 25. 2 Chronicles 21:2
  • 26. 1 Chronicles 5:26
  • 27. 2 Kings 16:8, 9
  • 28. Isaiah 1:5; Jeremiah 5:3; Revelation 16:11
  • 29. 2 Chronicles 25:14
  • 30. Jeremiah 44:17, 18
  • 31. 2 Kings 16:17
  • 32. 2 Chronicles 29:7
  • 33. 2 Chronicles 30:14; 2 Chronicles 33:3-5
  • 34. 2 Kings 16:19, 20
  • 35. 2 Kings 16:20; 2 Chronicles 24:25; Isaiah 14:28
  • 36. 2 Chronicles 21:2

Footnotes 7

2 Chronicles 28 Commentaries

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